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Doc laughed and picked her up, swinging her around.“Do you want to tell me what the meaning of this is?”

“I’m so happy to see you.”

He chuckled.“I have a feeling you’ve been listening to gossip today.”

“Yeah, only it’s not gossip if it is in fact true.”She smiled at him.“Is it?”

Doc sighed.“You tell me what you heard, and I will tell you if it’s true.”

“You went to that dick, Wilson Carmichael’s, house, who I heard kicked his wife and kid out of the house.He then had a yard sale, moved his mistress into the house.Today, you went and the mistress was seen running away terrified, and Wilson had all his belongings tossed out of the house, and well, you moved Jamie back into her home.”She couldn’t stop smiling.

“Yeah, that is what happened.”

Maeve threw her arms around him, but Doc moved back, and she didn’t know why until he bent down and grabbed her bag.“None of this stuff is broken, is it?”

“No, no, it’s fine.Everything is protected, and it’s not like I dropped it too badly.”She couldn’t help but wince, but she couldn’t stop smiling.“When did you meet Jamie?”she asked.“Is this what the club does now?”

“I think we need to go somewhere and talk,” Doc said.

This did not feel good.

Maeve frowned, and she grabbed her bag.“Is this the part where you tell me it’s over and we move on from each other?”she asked.

Doc stopped and stared at her.“You don’t have a lot of faith in me, do you?”

“You want to go and talk?It’s not about having faith in you.I trust you.”

“Then trust me now.”

Maeve knew she wasn’t behaving like herself.Fear did travel down her spine, but she ignored it and followed Doc to his truck.He hadn’t brought the bike, but it was probably a good thing, seeing as her makeup bag was pretty large, and it had been a bit of a nightmare this morning.He’d been determined to drop her off, rather than let her drive herself.

She kept advising him, but he wouldn’t listen.Kristin had a great deal of beauty supplies in the salon, but Maeve knew what she liked, and her makeup kit was fully stocked and had items that were not in the salon, which she needed to add those finishing touches that made a woman’s eyes sparkle.

Doc put her makeup bag in the back seat, and Maeve climbed into the front.It wasn’t an overly large car, but it sat high off the ground.Maeve didn’t say a word as she pulled on the seat belt.

Doc drove out of town, and it surprised her as they made their way toward a drive-thru selling burgers.He ordered them both large cheeseburgers and fries, and after they got their order, he handed it to her and parked up at the drive-thru.

Maeve took several fries out of her bag and shoved them into her mouth.She was so hungry.Her stomach chose that moment to gurgle how hungry she actually was.She’d skipped lunch because with now working at Kristin’s salon, within twenty-four hours, she’d become fully booked.In fact, she was booked up until the Easter Fair, as well as after it through to July.Kristin was shocked.Especially as Maeve had also limited her days to only three in the shop, so she could still be available for other clients.She and Kristin had come to a negotiation that worked for the two of them.Kristin had already posted the detail over social media, which had brought in a great deal more clientele.

“Maeve, I’m not a good person,” he said.

This made her turn toward him.She was not going to speak, but she would listen to him.

“The Chaos Monsters are not some rebel group.They’re not a fucking boy band.In Rivermont Ridge, we keep the bad shit out.That has been the agreement with Sheriff Hayes for a long time now.”Doc looked at her, and Maeve didn’t look away.“I’m not a good man.I have killed people in the past and I don’t give a fuck when I do.The club must come first, it always has.I take care of business, and I keep everything under lock and key.Today, I showed restraint but there might come a time when Wilson Carmichael doesn’t go home.He doesn’t deserve his wife and kid.”

“What was today?”she asked.

“I don’t like it when men fuck over their responsibility.I don’t like man-babies.I can’t fucking stand it when men want to be men, stick their dick where they want, and then don’t take care of what they created.”

“Is that why you stayed with Nancy for so long, even after everything she did?”Maeve asked.

He looked at her.

She shrugged.“Nancy and I talked a little while ago.I figured your past was your past, and I wasn’t going to pry.”

“Nancy cheated a lot, but I had Charlotte, and then I had Jake, and just because their mother was behaving like an asshole, I wasn’t going to ...hurt them.”

“You’re a good man, Doc.”